Use the examples with their context and limits. Recall a sentence before reading the model. Original teaching additions accompany examples adapted from Chinese Grammar Wiki (AllSet Learning, CC BY-NC-SA); see the course reference provenance.
Describe weather and location
Say what the weather is like and where a place is.
Build the meaning
For an ordinary description, say 今天很冷, today is cold. 很 often supports a neutral adjective description; it does not always mean strongly “very”.
A place expression can use 在: 学校在医院旁边, the school is beside the hospital. The adjective pattern and location pattern do different jobs.
Useful words in context
- 冷 lěng — cold. 今天很冷。
- 热 rè — hot. 今天很热。
- 下雨 xià yǔ — rain. 今天下雨。
- 旁边 pángbiān — beside. 学校在医院旁边。
- 哪里 nǎlǐ — where. 学校在哪里？
Read for meaning
今天很冷，还下雨。林安不去公园。她去学校。学校在医院旁边。
It is cold and also raining today. Lin An does not go to the park. She goes to school, which is beside the hospital.
Listen to a different passage
Ask a partner to read this with the script closed. Use the online practice for browser playback.
今天很热，不下雨。公园在学校旁边。
It is hot today and not raining. The park is beside the school.
Speak and write
Describe today’s weather. Ask a partner where a fictional school is and answer with 旁边.
Write one weather sentence and one location sentence using a different place order.
One speaking model: A: 今天天气怎么样？ B: 很冷。 A: 学校在哪里？ B: 在医院旁边。
One writing model: 今天很热。医院在学校旁边。
- Use an adjective or weather expression.
- Use 在 for location.
- Keep the two sentence purposes distinct.
Check the distinction: For the ordinary adjective description use 今天很冷. Do not insert 是 just because English says is cold.